Sri Lankans in Japan

See also: Indians in Japan and Nepalis in Japan

Ethnic group

Sri Lankans in Japan

在日スリランカ人
Zainichi Surirankajin

Total population
63,472 (in December, 2024)[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
Tokyo, Ibaraki, Chiba, Funabashi, Kawasaki, Sagamihara, Saitama, Yokohama
Languages
Sinhala, Tamil, English, Japanese
Religion
Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity

Sri Lankans in Japan consist of Sri Lankan migrants that come to Japan, as well as their descendants, and have been in Japan since ancient times. In December 2024, there were 63,472 Sri Lankans living in Japan. They are the fourth largest nationality group from South Asia after Myanmar, Nepalis and Indians.[1][2]

Traditional Japanese culture shares a lot of similarities with traditional Indian and Sri Lankan culture, including music (such as instruments and melodic structure), fashion and cuisine, among others.[3][4] Much of this has been dissimenated from India and Sri Lanka since ancient times via the Sinosphere and South East Asia, including through Austronesians, trade between India, Sri Lanka and East Asia, expansion of Buddhism, the expansion of Tamil empires into South East Asia, European colonialism, among others.

Japan has converserly had a moderate impact on Sri Lankan culture, including directly through exports, religion and pop culture, and indirectly through the Sinosphere (such as Kpop) and South East Asia. Japan is a major geopolitical partner of Sri Lanka, along with other major partners China, India and the United States.[5] Sri Lanka has sometimes been historically grouped with South East Asian countries due to the predominance of sea-based travel in ancient and pre-modern history and the cultural exchange that came with it, along with notable modern ties between Sri Lanka and South East Asia.[6]

## History

[edit]

### Ancient

[edit]

Austronesian sail types in South East Asia, including the Double sprit sail found in Sri Lanka (A). Austronesians have played a role in trade in South East Asia since proto-historic times.[7]

Japan has been a destination for South Asian travellers and merchants for hundreds of years. South Asia and Japan have maintained relations through direct contact and indirect contact via the Sinosphere and South East Asia.[8][9]

There is evidence that Austronesian traders engaged in a trade and communications network in the eastern Indian Ocean (in particular the coasts of the south east of India and Sri Lanka), South East Asia (including Taiwan) and Japan as far back as 5000 BC.[10][11] Though most Austronesians in Southern India and Sri Lanka have been subsumed and assimilated into the dominant populations, there remains a strong Austronesian cultural community in Sri Lanka. This contact is still evident in Sri Lankan languages. For example, Tamil paṭavu meaning "ship", is derived from Proto-Hesperonesian *padaw, "sailboat", with Austronesian cognates like Maranao padaw, Cebuano paráw, and Māori wharau.[12] Conversely there was a settlement of Austronesians in Japan in Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands near Taiwan.[13]

Itsukushima shrine, located in Miyajima near Hiroshima, an example of the confluence of Shintoism, Buddhism and Hinduism in Japan.

Sri Lanka was a major source of Buddhism dissemination through the Pali Canon and the creation of Theravada Buddhism, one of the three sources of Buddhism along with Chinese Buddhism (Mahayana) and Vajrayana.[14] Though often overlooked in western academia, Buddhism was transmitted through trade routes across South East Asia in addition to the Sinophere.[15] As in Sri Lanka, there remains a great deal of confluence between Buddhism and Hinduism, which are integrated into Shintoism in Japan.[16]

The Tōdai-ji (東大寺) temple in Nara, reflecting artistic influences from China, India and Sri Lanka during the Nara period.

Bodhisena (704 to 760 CE) was as monk from the city of Madurai, then under the rule of the Pandya dynasty covering large parts of southern India and Sri Lanka, who introduced substanial amounts of Indian and Sri Lankan culture into Japan including significant influences on art, religion and language. This period is known in Japan as the Nara period, a period involving substantial Indian influences on Japan, and when Buddhism received substantial state support as a central religion incorporated into Shintoism, and was deeply intertwinned with the state eventually leading to the centre of political power to move to Kyoto.[17] This period went on to have a significant influence on the Heian and Kamakura eras as well.

### Edo period and imperial Japan

[edit]

British Indian naval units being inspected in Hiroo, Japan

Ceylon, the name of the island since the Portuguese conquest, was one of the largest strongholds of the Dutch East India Company, which streteched across the Indian Ocean from Dejima in Nagasaki to Cape Town in South Africa. The Dutch-Ceylonese would continue to influence the country strongly throughout British Ceylon due to the expertise they had in administration, and retained strong connections with the trade infrastructure Dutch East India Company while assuming the connections of the British East India Company. Japan maintained links to Ceylon through the various colonial companies and administrations.[18] Artwork from the Edo period shows Indians with their stereotpical dark brown skin and colourful patterns of the Coromandel design;[19] many of the sepoys and merchants working on the Dutch East India Company ships to Dejima were of Indian/Ceylonese descent.[20]

Ceylon became an important symbolic battleground during WWII. The Japanese were the main antagonist of the war progranda by the allies of WWII in Ceylon.[21] Ceylon, at the time the headquarters of the South East Asian division of the British Navy and a major base for British Indian military operations in South Asia, and it was viewed as a desirable base for the Empire of Japan.[22]

Japanese operation in South Asia in 1942. Nagumo's forces are shown at the bottom of the map.

Conversely, Ceylonese supporters of the Indian independence movement formed the 'Lanka Regiment' of the so-called Indian National Army which had been established by Nazi Germany, directly under Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and based themselves in Japanese Malaya. A plan was made to transport them to Ceylon by submarine, to begin the independence struggle, but this was abortive. The Japanese considered the Ceylonese to be "local Indians".[22] The Kandy Conference in Ceylon was the location where former Imperial Japan forces of Burma met with British authorities in the aftermath of the Japanese surrender to decide on their new future.[23]

### Modern

[edit]

A number of the Indians from South East Asian were historically categorised as "Indians" but otherwise have a lineage to Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans were also often chosen to work in administrative roles in the East India Companies due to being colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch and British at an earlier stage and having a higher literacy rate.[24] Trade was often imported and exported from Nagasaki to Ceylon by the Dutch East India Company, such as kimonos[25] and copper.[26]

Sri Lankan rugby team at the Asian Five Nations

Japan is the leading team in rugby in Asia, and Sri Lanka is the leading Asian rugby team outside East Asia (ranking fifth overall, formerly second behind only Japan).[27] Being one of the leading teams in Asia, Sri Lanka has played a number of competitive matches in Japan and plays friendly matches on a frequent basis. However Sri Lanka has lost every single competitive match it has played against Japan.

Japan has become a popular destination for university students from Sri Lanka; advice given to prospective new students includes learning Japanese and learning about local customs and mannerisms.[28] An ever increasing number of children from ethnic Sri Lankan background study at schools in Japan.[29] Universities in Japan have started offering incentives to students from Sri Lanka.[30] Sri Lankans form one of the largest foreign population in Ibaraki Prefecture and it has numerous Sri Lankan restaurants which is mostly famous for its curry

Japan expo pavilion in Nagoya, Aichi

Sri Lankans fill a gap in a number of professional categories including healthcare and ICT. Sri Lankans also have access to the 'Special Skilled Worker' category in nursing care, food service, construction and agriculture.[31][32][33] Japan has targeted South Asia and South East Asia as sources for talent.[34]

Schools in Sri Lanka offer training in the Japanese language at O-Level and A-Level targeting employment in 14 sectors including nursing, hospitality, building cleaning, agricultural activities, motor mechanics, electronics and electrical engineering.[35]

In May 2024 a 31-year-old woman from Sri Lanka who came to Japan in 2018 as the first technical intern trainee in the caregiving field completed her education and obtained a qualification as a caregiver.[36]

## Cuisine

[edit]

Indian food is very popular in Japan.[37] Historically many spices were imported into Japan as these spices could only be grown in certain climates found in Southern China (including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau), Southern India (including Sri Lanka) and South East Asia.[38] The various spices and cultural infusion that were imported along the same trade routes from South Asia into South East Asia led to the formation of cuisines in South East Asia heavily influenced by South Asia as far back as at least 2000 years ago, of which many of them are eaten in Japan.[39]

### Classical

[edit]

Many of the principles of traditional Japanese cuisine derive from Buddhism and Hinduism due to their use by monasteries, including the preference for high quality ingredients and subtle flavors, angalous to Hela Wedakam and Ayurvedic cuisine in ancient Lanka. It's become a trend in Japan to learn about traditional cooking methods by travelling to South Asia.[40][41]

Vegetarian food is heavily associated with Buddhism in Japan, and in nearly exclusively found at Buddhist temples. Called Shojin Ryori, Emperor Tenmu prohibited the killing and eating of meat in 675 AD, though the ban was largely ignored and eventually removed a hundred years later. The temple food is a strict interpretation of Indian vegetarianism and avoids both dairy products and certain root vegetables. Sri Lankan temples associated with the Japanese Buddhist order serve vegetarian cuisine at their temples and associated restaurants.[42][43]

### Curry

[edit]

See also: Rice and curry

Indian curry is one of the most popular dishes in Japan, sometimes labelled as the most popular dish of Japan.[44] Curry (カレー, karē) is a loanword from Tamil (கறி kaṟi) via Indian English, popularized by naval contact between the Japan and the British East India Company.[45][46] There are also curries found in Japan that were developed in ancient times in South East Asia that were derived from South Asia.[39]

100% pure Ceylon tea in Japan

It is now considered to be a national dish of Japan and dishes from various parts of India are often sold in convenience stores and restaurants.[47] The majority of the Indian restaurants in Japan are a "fusion" of Nepali and Indian cuisine, who are by far the largest South Asian ethnic group in Japan, but many restaurants are also run by Indians and Sri Lankans, the latter of whom number around 35,000 and make the third largest South Asian ethnic group after Nepalis and Indians.[48][49]

The majority of Japanese will eat Japanese curry purchased from supermarkets and convenience stores, or from one of the numerous Japanese chain restaurants that specialize in curry.[50]

### Tea

[edit]

See also: Ceylon tea

Furthermore, though tea is originally native to East Asia, tea is also often drunk in Japan as black tea or milk tea using tea leaves grown in South Asia (such as Darjeeling, Assam or Ceylon).[51] Black tea is increasingly becoming more popular than green tea in Japan.[52]

## Issues

[edit]

Two Sri Lankans were accused of an illegal abortion in May 2024. They had performed the illegal abortion through an illegally obtained drug after being unable to carry out an abortion at a doctors clinic due to the period allowed under the abortion law having lapsed. Though it is abnormally common for babies to be abandoned by foreign nationals, illegal abortions by foreign nationals are seen as more rare. Analysts believe that the government needs to make the support services more well-known.[53] Abortion is not covered by public health insurance.

Of the seventeen deaths involving immigration detention by all nationalities, one death of a Sri Lankan national who had overstayed her visa led to a campaign by the relatives of the deceased to obtain compensation. Other deaths include that of an Indian national, Nigerian national and Vietnamese national.[54]

Foods that are similar to the spiciness of Sri Lankan food include that served by Nepali and Indian restaurants.[55]

## See also

[edit]

* Sri Lankan diaspora

## References

[edit]

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7. ^ Manguin, Pierre-Yves (2017-03-29), "Ships and Shipping in Southeast Asia", Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.30, ISBN 978-0-19-027772-7, retrieved 2025-01-21
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9. ^ Katsuhiko, Oga; Gupta, Sunil (1 January 2000). "The Far East, Southeast and South Asia: Indo-Pacific Beads from Yayoi Tombs as Indicators of Early Maritime Exchange". South Asian Studies. 16 (1): 73–88\. doi:10.1080/02666030.2000.9628581. ISSN 0266-6030. S2CID 191984538.
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11. ^ Manguin, Pierre-Yves (2016). "Austronesian Shipping in the Indian Ocean: From Outrigger Boats to Trading Ships". In Campbell, Gwyn (ed.). Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 51–76\. ISBN 9783319338224.
12. ^ Blench, R.; Spriggs, Matthew, eds. (1997). Archaeology and language. One world archaeology. London; New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-11760-9.
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15. ^ Holcombe, Charles (1999). "Trade-Buddhism: Maritime Trade, Immigration, and the Buddhist Landfall in Early Japan". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 119 (2): 280–292\. doi:10.2307/606111. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 606111.
16. ^ "Buddhism and Hinduism". obo. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
17. ^ Aiyar, Pallavi (2018-06-09). "The oldest recorded Indian in Japan impacts the country's culture even today". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
18. ^ Schrikker, Alicia (2011). "Caught Between Empires. VOC Families in Sri Lanka after the British Take-over, 1806-1808". Annales de démographie historique (in French). 122 (2): 127–147\. doi:10.3917/adh.122.0127. ISSN 0066-2062.
19. ^ "Exotic patterns featuring animals and human figures from a book from the Edo period". 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
20. ^ Odegard, Erik (July 2022). "In search of sepoys: Indian soldiers and the Dutch East India Company in India and Sri Lanka, 1760–1795". War in History. 29 (3): 543–562\. doi:10.1177/09683445211030301. ISSN 0968-3445.
21. ^ Wijesuriya, Lara; Nihara De Alwis (2021). "'Every Ounce They Can': Empire and the Ceylonese War Effort in British Propaganda, 1939-1945". doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.29616.48640. `{{cite journal}}`: Cite journal requires `|journal=` (help)
22. ^ a b "INA as seen by a Ceylonese recruit". Hindustan Times. 2006-04-17. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
23. ^ "Kandy Conference". Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
24. ^ Balakrishnan, Preveena (2022-07-12). "Malaya's Ceylonese Connection - Penang Monthly". penangmonthly.com. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
25. ^ "The Fascination with Japanese-Styled Gowns: A Quantitative Perspective on Ready-Made Garments at the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century". Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
26. ^ Glamann, Kristof (July 1953). "The Dutch East India company's trade in Japanese copper, 1645–1736". Scandinavian Economic History Review. 1 (1): 41–79\. doi:10.1080/03585522.1953.10409899. ISSN 0358-5522.
27. ^ worldrugby.org. "Women's and Men's Rankings | World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
28. ^ "Embracing Cultural Exchange and Learning Opportunities: A Sri Lankan Student's Journey in Japan". SYNODOS (in Japanese). 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
29. ^ "Amid Sri Lankan immigration boom, local univ. assists staff, kids at east Japan schools". Mainichi Daily News. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
30. ^ "Sri Lanka's Worrying Exodus". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
31. ^ "Sri Lankan youths conditionally allowed entry to Japan under 'Special Skilled Worker' visa category". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
32. ^ "EDB Drives Sri Lanka's ICT Sector to Penetrate Japanese Market - SLEDB". www.srilankabusiness.com. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
33. ^ Karunaratne, Hettige Don (2009). Internationalization of Sri Lankan entrepreneurship: a study of Sri Lankan immigrant entrepreneurs in Japan. Colombo: H.D. Karunaratne. ISBN 978-955-50475-1-7.
34. ^ "Japan targets India and Southeast Asia to recruit tech workers". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
35. ^ "Sri Lanka to teach Japanese at school level targeting jobs in Japan". EconomyNext. 2022-08-09. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
36. ^ "Sri Lankan, 1st technical intern in Japan nursing care, obtains national qualification". Mainichi Daily News. 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
37. ^ Dhillon, Amrit (2019-12-08). "Changing tastes: why is Japanese food so popular in India?". The National. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
38. ^ "Did You Know? The Exchange of Spices along the Silk Roads | Silk Roads Programme". en.unesco.org. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
39. ^ a b Wang, Weiwei; Nguyen, Khanh Trung Kien; Zhao, Chunguang; Hung, Hsiao-chun (2023-07-21). "Earliest curry in Southeast Asia and the global spice trade 2000 years ago". Science Advances. 9 (29): eadh5517. Bibcode:2023SciA....9H5517W. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adh5517. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 10361603. PMID 37478176.
40. ^ "What does Japanese-Indian food look like? Two chefs embark on an experiment to create new flavour combinations". CNA Lifestyle. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
41. ^ Mihiranie, Sachithra; Jayasinghe, Jagath K.; Jayasinghe, Chamila V. L.; Wanasundara, Janitha P. D. (2020-12-04). "Indigenous and traditional foods of Sri Lanka". Journal of Ethnic Foods. 7 (1): 42. doi:10.1186/s42779-020-00075-z. ISSN 2352-6181.
42. ^ Organization, Japan National Tourism. "A Vegetarian and Vegan Guide to Japan | Guide | Travel Japan - Japan National Tourism Organization (Official Site)". Travel Japan. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
43. ^ Ethnic Neighborhoods (2022-08-28). Growing Sri Lankan Vegetables in Ibaraki?! | Sri Lankans in Japan. Retrieved 2024-05-22 - via YouTube.
44. ^ Bhaumik, Sita Kuratomi (2020-10-13). "How 'Indian curry' became Japan's favourite dish". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
45. ^ "kari – A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary". 1984. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020.
46. ^ Taylor, Anna-Louise (11 October 2013). "Curry: Where did it come from?". BBC Food. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
47. ^ "India gets a taste for Japanese curry". NHK World. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
48. ^ "在留外国人統計（旧登録外国人統計） 在留外国人統計 月次 2023年6月 | ファイル | 統計データを探す". 政府統計の総合窓口 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-03-17.
49. ^ Kharel, Dipesh (2022-05-16). "Vulnerability and Pathways to Precarity: How COVID-19 Has Affected Japan's Nepali Immigrants". Social Science Japan Journal. 25 (2): 229–246\. doi:10.1093/ssjj/jyac007. ISSN 1369-1465.
50. ^ "Feature: Japanese chain "CoCoIchi" making inroads in curry's toughest market". Kyodo News+. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
51. ^ "Tea farmer eyes India as export market with cinnamon flavor | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
52. ^ Taniguchi, Miyako (2023-04-04). "Popularity of Japanese Black Tea Blooms as Green's Starts to Wilt". japannews.yomiuri.co.jp. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
53. ^ "Two Sri Lankan students in Japan accused of illegal abortion". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
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55. ^ "What it's like to be a Sri Lankan in Japan | Guidable - Your Guide to a Sustainable, Wellbeing-centred Life in Japan". Guidable - Your Guide to a Sustainable, Wellbeing-centred Life in Japan Guidable (in Japanese). 2021-03-18. Retrieved 2024-05-29.

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Sri Lankan diaspora

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See also|

* Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora

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Immigration to Japan

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* Black people in Japan
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* Category

* v
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Ethnic groups of Japan

Prehistoric|

* Jōmon
* Yayoi
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Ancient|

* Azumi
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* Ainu
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* Ethnic nationalism in Japan

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